Is that your bike Arsey?...stunning...
It was but foolishly sold it !
Your order of importance for hypothetical adventure motorcycle....
- Thread starter chrismckay
- Start date
It was but foolishly sold it !
XT600/660, upgraded suspension, bigger tank, soft luggage, decent rack for a roll bag
That would have been one to stash at the back of the garage under a sheet
Answer to a slightly different question perhaps because it depends what version you start with but on my list for any bike would be:
Tubeless wheels
Suspension upgrade
Bash and crash protection - you will drop it
Headlight guard
Wind protection - decent screen and hand guards (the latter is part of protection too)
Comfortable seating
Wide foot pegs
Folding brake and gear pedals
Bar risers - depends on comfort for standing
Short levers - less likely to break in a fall and I have short fingers
Double-take mirrors - less likely to break in a fall
Luggage - endless debate hard v soft. I favour the security of hard. Others will disagree. No top box.
Lights - for being seen (anything cheap helps)
Lights for seeing - Denali or Clearwater
Horn - as loud as possible
Heated grips
GPS - not smartphone
Optimate lead - for compressor and jump starting
Heated vest lead
Take off extraneous stuff - eg passenger pegs, grab rails etc.
Is that enough to be going on with?
Doesn’t need all that
Decent seat & screen options, to suit you
Suspension respring
Handguards
Luggage
GPS and you are off
Why a ‘nice bike’? ‘Nice’ these days generally represents expensive ie. £17,000 set aside before you have even rolled out of your front door.
Eventually, you’ll have to stop dreaming and grasp reality….. before it grabs you by the soft bits.
I am no big fan of vblogs or whatever they are called but that girl (which half of the forum seems to lust after) does show the type of bike that really does work, even leaving aside that she now maybe gets her bikes for free. None of them are the expensive bikes you list; they are small, simple and light. None of them has all the ‘Must do’ stuff that post #15 lists, yet she seems to make it on genuine jaunts around the globe….. and you already know how to make a video, so you’ve got a head start.
But hey, if it’s all about ‘the look’ fill yer boots
PS The forum’s gspod, who goes quite a long way to exotic locations, is with his wife. She rides a Himalayan, without too much done to it by way of bling or cost. There is a lesson in there somewhere, I guess. He was recently in Chile…. His bike is a 2011 TC with 80,000 miles on the clock. I’d bet your mortgage that it’s a lot less than £17,000.
Weight should always be the most important factor, especially if there’s any chance of you doing trips on your own.
The dry weight of a Husqvarna 701 is 40kg more than that of the 501 and that’s an awful lot of weight to have to pick up a few times if the going gets a bit nasty.
Change the wheels, add a larger front disc, larger fuel tank, a more comfortable seat and you’re done. Can you carry camping kit on it? Yes but don’t expect to be carrying many cans of beer.
My thoughts
Fast enough to cruise on a M/way, slow enough to enjoy the scenery.
Light and low enough to not put you off stopping anywhere at anytime to look at something, good side stand helps.
Economical enough to allow a small tank but still have good range.
Good weather protection.
Good range of adjustability in standard suspension.
If any bike doesn't comply the above it's where money will be spent, economy can't be bought after market but bigger tanks often can, light and low can be bought.
I doubt that I'd ever spend that much on one bike for one job but if it was my only choice it would probably be either a heavily modified EXC500/690 or something like an F800 although I think an RE Classic would provide the best choice for a fraction of the cost.
For reference we have F650GSGD, KTM525's and 350EXC's and tailor trips to suit.
50/50 dirt/sealed is actually a lot of dirt in my experience and often the dirt is matched with small sealed back roads so speed is not required but a bike that will rattle along in any gear is. This is why I like the BMW 650 singles so much, select fourth at the beginning of the day and just enjoy the ride.
Fast enough to cruise on a M/way, slow enough to enjoy the scenery.
Light and low enough to not put you off stopping anywhere at anytime to look at something, good side stand helps.
Economical enough to allow a small tank but still have good range.
Good weather protection.
Good range of adjustability in standard suspension.
If any bike doesn't comply the above it's where money will be spent, economy can't be bought after market but bigger tanks often can, light and low can be bought.
I doubt that I'd ever spend that much on one bike for one job but if it was my only choice it would probably be either a heavily modified EXC500/690 or something like an F800 although I think an RE Classic would provide the best choice for a fraction of the cost.
For reference we have F650GSGD, KTM525's and 350EXC's and tailor trips to suit.
50/50 dirt/sealed is actually a lot of dirt in my experience and often the dirt is matched with small sealed back roads so speed is not required but a bike that will rattle along in any gear is. This is why I like the BMW 650 singles so much, select fourth at the beginning of the day and just enjoy the ride.
Just to maybe prove a point, here is the very little amount of work done on gspod’s wife’s cheap Himalayan. It came to me in PM’s but I assume they are not secret.
When I asked in particular about the side stand:
I guess I am taller than his wife, so getting on the bike is less of a problem for me, with it more upright. Though fine tuning a bike with a cheap adjustable side stand is not entirely a waste of money.
A really good, real life, hands-on (all much valued on this site) indication that a bike doesn’t have to ‘Look good’ or cost £17,000 to go on an Adventure, with a capital A. In fact, quite the reverse. Not least, there is nothing hypothetical about it.
When I asked in particular about the side stand:
I guess I am taller than his wife, so getting on the bike is less of a problem for me, with it more upright. Though fine tuning a bike with a cheap adjustable side stand is not entirely a waste of money.
A really good, real life, hands-on (all much valued on this site) indication that a bike doesn’t have to ‘Look good’ or cost £17,000 to go on an Adventure, with a capital A. In fact, quite the reverse. Not least, there is nothing hypothetical about it.
As Snafu says, a Royal Enfield 500 Classic is another alternative and dirt cheap to buy. Depending on the version you can opt for a single seat plus rack to keep weight forward as much as possible and fit the factory pannier rails then either use soft luggage or modify some suitable sized hard panniers. They’re the bike of choice for most companies offering tours of Asia so that alone suggests they’re both cheap to run and easy to fix.
The downside is that they’re considerable heavier than a similar capacity KTM but if you’re simply ambling along having your own mini adventure you’ll get approaching 100mpg which means you’ll only fill it up once each day and you won’t need to worry about carrying an extra fuel container if you’re going somewhere where fuel stops are 200 miles apart.
The downside is that they’re considerable heavier than a similar capacity KTM but if you’re simply ambling along having your own mini adventure you’ll get approaching 100mpg which means you’ll only fill it up once each day and you won’t need to worry about carrying an extra fuel container if you’re going somewhere where fuel stops are 200 miles apart.
Cheap, Simple and Comparatively Light, all three seem to be neck and neck in the hypothetical steeplechase race for hypothetical adventures. Meanwhile Seventeen Grand and Looking Ace (both strongly favoured at the start in some bookies) are out of contention, with Looking Ace having faded on the soft ground and Seventeen Grand having failed to enter the stalls.
PS Besides being cheap to run, I suspect that the Asian organised tour companies use Royal Enfield bikes, simply as they are readily available with little to no import duty. Those handicaps do not apply to the wealthy west, where any dealership will sell you any bike, often on the never-never.
PS Besides being cheap to run, I suspect that the Asian organised tour companies use Royal Enfield bikes, simply as they are readily available with little to no import duty. Those handicaps do not apply to the wealthy west, where any dealership will sell you any bike, often on the never-never.
chrismckay
Registered user
Of course you are 100 % correct,, many people have done fantastic travels on all sorts of motorcycles, and I love hearing about them. In fact the lusted after lady started off her vblogthingy on a Himalayan and it was a reall winner for her on a trip that included non hypothetical destinations including Iran and many of the 'Stans'....
It is a dream for most of us though, one which I may or may not realise before I start pishing the bed. The upside of my hypothetical post though is that it has created an interesting thread [to me anyway] which fuels the thought process and educates me by the way of hearing from guys with real world experience.
The £17k was mentioned as a starting point of debate as it's what your average tarmac GS rider would be paying for a newish bike, and to debate the more 'educated' way that people could spend or in fact save that sort of money and if and where if any money spent then what is priority [suspension etc]....hypothetically!.
Interestingly enough, on the trips that I have been on and when interacting with like minded motorcycleists, for instance in the line for the ferry, the bikes that I admire the most are the non bling ones that look like they have a story to tell..
I concur. Interesting thread because it provokes thought.
In my own experience, the degree of adapting I’ve wanted to do or have done to a bike has always been dependent on the length of time I was going to be away and where I was headed.
Thee of my most fun, shorer trips were Himalaya on a Himalayan, Iceland gravel on a Sertao and Alaska on an oil head 1200GS. All three were completely out-of-the-box bog standard.
My two longer trips, one was on the CB500X and one on an 850GS. I’ll be taking the 850 to South America later this year too. Both bikes were/are fairly well adapted for my preferences. Riding distance most days for 3 months in varying conditions is a very different requirement than being away for 10 days…
In my own experience, the degree of adapting I’ve wanted to do or have done to a bike has always been dependent on the length of time I was going to be away and where I was headed.
Thee of my most fun, shorer trips were Himalaya on a Himalayan, Iceland gravel on a Sertao and Alaska on an oil head 1200GS. All three were completely out-of-the-box bog standard.
My two longer trips, one was on the CB500X and one on an 850GS. I’ll be taking the 850 to South America later this year too. Both bikes were/are fairly well adapted for my preferences. Riding distance most days for 3 months in varying conditions is a very different requirement than being away for 10 days…
Well I started on a Royal Enfield 500 Bullet, got as far as Thailand before realising it wasn't going to make it around the world. Then went for the GSA 1150, got it shipped out from the UK, beast of a bike, great for munching miles and corrugations but then opted to swop it in Australia for a XT660R for the benefits of riding off road. No regrets on any, as when you're on the road nothing stands in your way of finishing off a days riding with a smile on your face.
No matter what you ride or where you ride, you'll have a great time. Don't worry about what shit you need or don't need, get out and hit the road as soon as you can or suits you, as you never know when your time is up.
Don't worry about riding with a group or on your tod, as with the latter you'll have a better experience with getting to know the locals.
The money you save on buying a flash new shiny motorcycle would be better spent staying out on the road, if it's an old nail you buy then you'll get to know the locals even better. your carnet would be cheaper, the bike would be less prone of getting stolen and if it did it's less money you've lost and if you do choose to insure it, that would be cheaper too.
No matter what you ride or where you ride, you'll have a great time. Don't worry about what shit you need or don't need, get out and hit the road as soon as you can or suits you, as you never know when your time is up.
Don't worry about riding with a group or on your tod, as with the latter you'll have a better experience with getting to know the locals.
The money you save on buying a flash new shiny motorcycle would be better spent staying out on the road, if it's an old nail you buy then you'll get to know the locals even better. your carnet would be cheaper, the bike would be less prone of getting stolen and if it did it's less money you've lost and if you do choose to insure it, that would be cheaper too.
The other reason its helpful is you can realistically value that as a 2 grand bike.
This makes your Carnet soooo much cheaper, if you are headed to carnet countries.
I valued mine at 1000 Euros
It has been an interesting thread indeed.
I bought my Himalayan, not with any great pipe dream of crossing the Gobi or traversing the Darien Gap, but rather because it is very different to my 1600. I am not adverse to taking the big bike down some pretty unsuitable roads but it is stupid doing it on my own and even more stupid to lob it on its side, so I thought I could use the little bike for some light off-roading if I see a cart track or two which look interesting. That I can easily tow it behind my motorhome, is just a bonus. I have towed my 1600 but it’s a bit overblown for nipping to the shops.
Its main purpose though is to ride the four cloverleaf leaves of the ‘German motorcycle route’, which (if you ride the lot) is over 7,000 miles without leaving Germany and not hitting any major city. Of course I could blitz the lot on the 1600 and come home but that would rather spoil the opportunity. I hope to just meander around it, maybe the whole lot in one go or break them up. I’ll camp to hold the cost down and (as I don’t expect to meet royalty) not pile myself with bling in every department, I’d rather spend the money on a good tent and a comfortable airbed. The servicing I can do myself, as the bike is so simple to work on.
The only bling? A ‘touring seat’, heated grips, a bit of electrics for the sat nav, phone, tank bag and heated jacket and two spacers to lift the front mudguard. I might jazz the suspension a bit, we shall see. Parts are so cheap, it might be silly not to. A Cool Cover to sit on and I’m done.
Of course it’s not as heroic as smashing Iceland or steaming up the Mekong but it’ll be different enough to going to Tesco for a coffee.
I bought my Himalayan, not with any great pipe dream of crossing the Gobi or traversing the Darien Gap, but rather because it is very different to my 1600. I am not adverse to taking the big bike down some pretty unsuitable roads but it is stupid doing it on my own and even more stupid to lob it on its side, so I thought I could use the little bike for some light off-roading if I see a cart track or two which look interesting. That I can easily tow it behind my motorhome, is just a bonus. I have towed my 1600 but it’s a bit overblown for nipping to the shops.
Its main purpose though is to ride the four cloverleaf leaves of the ‘German motorcycle route’, which (if you ride the lot) is over 7,000 miles without leaving Germany and not hitting any major city. Of course I could blitz the lot on the 1600 and come home but that would rather spoil the opportunity. I hope to just meander around it, maybe the whole lot in one go or break them up. I’ll camp to hold the cost down and (as I don’t expect to meet royalty) not pile myself with bling in every department, I’d rather spend the money on a good tent and a comfortable airbed. The servicing I can do myself, as the bike is so simple to work on.
The only bling? A ‘touring seat’, heated grips, a bit of electrics for the sat nav, phone, tank bag and heated jacket and two spacers to lift the front mudguard. I might jazz the suspension a bit, we shall see. Parts are so cheap, it might be silly not to. A Cool Cover to sit on and I’m done.
Of course it’s not as heroic as smashing Iceland or steaming up the Mekong but it’ll be different enough to going to Tesco for a coffee.
Damin it....I had my best gag lined up....and you changed the spelling.....
We’ll meat again….
The other reason its helpful is you can realistically value that as a 2 grand bike.
This makes your Carnet soooo much cheaper, if you are headed to carnet countries.
I valued mine at 1000 Euros
I had not thought of that. Neato.
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On the contrary , sounds like a top trip to me…
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